Chapter 30: the first test

-Kakashi-

He stared down at the two Genin and one... well, Naruto. 

The tension between all three of them were concerning. Naruto was ignoring their entire beings and seemed to barely spare any attention to him. Sakura had brows furrowed as she continuously glanced at Naruto, him, and Sasuke as if she wanted to dissect them.

Sasuke himself seemed the most 'human' out of the three, pressing his forehead against his linked hands and pretending that the stifling silence did not exist.

Kakashi didn't know how to react to seeing Naruto. His appearance had changed, he looked more like Minato, he had a Byakugo which- from memory- was an... S-Ranked seal... Based off what he could tell, Naruto could pass the Chuunin exams with flying colours. Sasuke also could. So could Sakura.

His 'team' was more than well-prepared for the Chuunin exams, so he technically didn't even need to hold this 'meeting' to 'get to know each other'. It was really just Obito's spirit haunting him that prompted this.

It was just a big drama now; Sakura and Naruto had some little spat, Naruto and Sasuke are refusing to acknowledge that their entire everything even happened, Sakura was adamant on remaining completely un-fangirl-like towards Sasuke to defy her past self and now it was Sasuke left being as normal as this team could get.

It had all been fine in Wave... or so Kakashi had believed. He knew that investing in optimism was stupid, yet he'd done it anyway. He couldn't possibly imagine it coming to something like this, and now he could only think: 'why him?' 

No one but the Sandaime wanted him to tutor these brats; he was a horrible Sensei and they definitely deserve better. Wave was like a wake up call- Shizune had been correct; he had slacked.

He had not taught any of his Genin.

Kakashi had always directed them towards D-Ranks to hopefully improve their relationships and their general knowledge and skills, but that meant that they didn't get any training in. 

When Wave rolled in, he'd failed to acknowledge how much his strength had declined from day-to-day lack of self-care, ignoring his basic human needs and moping, and pushed onwards because he thought 'what was the worst that could happen?' He knew that his Genin were somewhat competent anyway.

But in the Wave mission, he learnt that something was wrong with Sakura's newfound mentality that Kakashi had previously ignored out of spite, Sasuke was more bothered by his ghosts than he expected, and Hanako was deluded. 

Hanako should not have gotten his leg cut off.

Hanako was twelve. He was a Genin. He was under Kakashi's care. Kakashi was an S-Rank ninja and his team was the furthest thing from mentally capable and loyal as they could get.

Sans his give-and-take relationship with Ino (a thing Kakashi still has yet to learn about), Sasuke was more distant from Konoha than ever, and he only really cared about Team 7 when it involved him getting stronger. Somehow that interaction with the Hyoton boy was more influential on his mentality than half a decade of Konoha's half-hearted attempt to help.

Sakura was a civilian kunoichi who Kakashi had genuinely expected would quit. Then he had watched with a sense of numb disbelief as she became bloodthirsty- no, that wasn't really right- She became emptier than she already had, hollowing herself out further, and using whatever opportunities she had around her to convince herself she wasn't.

Her desperation.

Her desperation threw a wrench in her everything. Her morals are as skewered as any traumatised shinobi, and her blatant lack of care towards gore and bloodshed made Kakashi think.

Kakashi knew there were too many problems to fix and he was incapable of fixing any of them when he was scarce to cope with his own. The only thing he could do was prepare for next time, and that meant getting them stronger because that was equally as important as the 'teamwork' that Obito's death had him focusing on.

If Hanako was stronger, he wouldn't've gotten maimed.

If Sasuke was stronger, he would've been less distant.

If Sakura was stronger, she wouldn't've lacked the support network she had needed. 

And Kakashi knew that he needed to get himself stronger as well. The quickest place for that was ANBU. The Sandaime had looked at him funny for a full minute when he compared it to a 'part-time' until the Chuunin exams, but had ultimately accepted his request. 

Because Hanako was bedridden, D-Ranks didn't happen and the pair were obviously happy about it. 

Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan and Kakashi could overload him with various Jutsus and greaten his combat speed. Kakashi began to drill ANBU routines into the boy, and he found that his old status as the 'ungifted second Uchiha' was very incorrect as he quickly adapted to Raiton and the harsh training. Comparing him to Itachi was inevitable, and although he was still leagues out of his brother, Sasuke was improving as fast as Itachi had from Kakashi's assumptions.

Sakura had fine control and a brutal disposition that could conjure up the cruellest, most heartlessly efficient scenarios or illusions when given a prompt- even creating new Genjutsus for the Hell Viewing Jutsu was too 'simple' for her; Kakashi didn't know if it was to cope with her own mess, or if she was inherently cruel, but it was a fit for Genjutsu. She blossomed under Kurenai's tutoring, even though it meant that he owed that woman some.

Kiba dealt well under Sakura's steel, and Sakura acknowledged and half-heartedly befriended Shino though he was pretty sure the attempt was superficial given Shino's lack of genuine reception and her quite obvious distaste towards his Aburame condition. Ino had told him that Sakura had admitted that she was curious, but it creeped her out more. The Hyuuga girl though... Kakashi didn't know whether to pity her or not.

What was with these bloody rookie kunoichis?

Ino not being a predictable-fangirl was one thing, Sakura was another, and then Hinata suddenly has this terrifying trait of 'being able to slowly kill you while stammering and blushing'. More importantly, the relations between the three were...

Kakashi could recognise a copied personality when he saw one- hell, he moulded his empty personality after Obito and Rin to patch up the holes they left behind. 

When Obito and Rin died, he found his old self to be more faulty and even as he discarded that strict mentality, he found himself to completely lack an individual self. He could only bluff by adopting Obito's habits, and faking Rin's kindness.

If not, he'd be a shell of a man with nothing but bloodthirst running through his mind.

Sakura was relatable like that, though it didn't prevent Kakashi's mild wariness of her. 

Swapping out the 'rules and regulations' to 'Sasuke's hot and I want his babies', Sakura similarly lacked an initial individual self. She had been withdrawn and shy before she became a fangirl. After getting rid of that, she had nothing. She tried to be independent and Kakashi hadn't seen it then. He had thought her as annoying and pathetic.

Why did she change? It would be so much easier to dislike her like that. 

She moulded herself after her peers, took on Hinata like how Ino had taken on her. Sakura helped out everyone and became a 'perfect child', conforming to both her parents' expectations, as well as the textbook kunoichi. She should've broken from that sky-high standard, but she didn't.

For that, Kakashi could respect her. But would 'breaking' be better? She had seemed to fallen into a pit after Wave, but then she met 'Namito' and found her resolve again. What if she hadn't? Would it have saved her from this cycle of irony that ran in her head?

Sakura coped from her stress and warded off burn outs by sculpting herself as the 'heroine', the 'protagonist'. It was expected of her to be perfect, and 'she was perfect'. She 'had all the good traits' and had just the 'right, likeable flaws' so she wasn't too perfect. She was 'perfectly perfect' because 'if she wasn't perfect, then how did she survive?' 

...Obviously these inner musings were all stolen off the Yamanaka. Kakashi had found Ino- despite being a tricky Yamanaka who tried to bait him into therapy- very handy because she would bluntly put complicated things straight.

...Like a reverse Yamanaka because usually they made straight facts complicated. For example, one therapist had told Kakashi that his depression was actually not depression a string of other mental disorders that dragged him into the mud of depression. 

Like god, it's easier to say 'Kakashi, you've got depression' rather than 'based off your experiences on the battleground and your history of frontline fighting as a child, you have blah blah and blah-'

Ino seemed to want everything straightforward so that she could 'fix' it. Ino just seemed done with the world's bullshit, and for that, Kakashi could relate. Very handy girl indeed. ...Kakashi didn't know why she wasn't setting Sakura's complicated mess 'straight' though...

Sakura cleared her throat and Kakashi left his ruminating and blinked. 

"Uhh... I've, um, called you here today to... gauge each others' strengths. This is important for the Chuunin exams so you know what to expect from each other."

Naruto arched a brow at him as if he couldn't believe he was doing some actual Sensei-ing, but honestly, Kakashi had stolen that off Gai- of all people.

"Okay, fine, but what about Yamashiro?" Naruto cut in.

"...What?" Kakashi blinked. Why would Naruto want to see Hanako?

"Yamashiro Hanako." He repeated impatiently. "Don't tell me you've forgotten him."

"I haven't." He denied a little irritably. Of course he wouldn't! "You know of his condition; that's why you're replacing him. He can't come to a team spar."

"I should meet him... maybe in a few weeks..." Naruto wrinkled his nose, obviously not looking forward to that idea. "You can't just detach him from it like this. Have you even talked to him?"

Not really considering how Hanako seemed to hate his guts with passion. 

"...Yeah." Naruto pressed his lips together in a flat voice. Kakashi hadn't even twitched! "I thought so. ...Well frick you, I'm going to be uncooperative and not spar or whatever." Then he narrowed his eyes for a split second, looking like he was trying to prevent his brain from frying. "I've already got a grasp on what Haruno and S- Uchiha are like, fighting style wise, so I'm fine. Yeet, guys."

"...We." Sasuke started abruptly as Naruto made a move to stand.

"Hm?" Naruto raised a brow, making the Uchiha's brow tick as well. 

"We." He repeated. "Need to know about your capabilities as well, N-"

-Sasuke-

An accurate word to describe his current predicament would be: fuck. 

'Uchiha'? Uchiha? Since when did Naruto speak so... formally? Now what? Sasuke needs to call him 'Uzumaki'?

"Because," He elaborated, "The Chuunin exams may rely on teamwork." Konoha was so gung-ho on that anyway. 

"Sasuke-k-" Sakura choked on the honorific. "Sasuke is right, N-" Ah. Same problem. "Sasuke is right. Even if we aren't a proper team-" Kakashi winced slightly. "-It's still preferable that we know the fighting style of each other."

Sasuke would say that he knew how Naruto fought, but times have changed. Naruto was strong. Stronger than him, but Sasuke will not acknowledge that.

Not to mention his presence was manipulated in a way to seem like he'd improved only a little bit- Sasuke was not sold on that; he knew by now that relying on his senses wasn't a good idea. 

Naruto was casting him a blatant stare that felt so serious compared to his usual childish glares or petulant pouts that Sasuke felt the need to turn away in discomfort. Sasuke didn't know this Naruto. 

More than the jarring gap in strength between the two, Sasuke was more concerned about his new... demeanour.

This Naruto had a sense of distance, of impassiveness, that the Naruto he knew didn't have.

It set him off. It irked him. It was annoying in a way he knew he couldn't fix now.

He now sort of understood Sakura's hesitance and bafflement. Usually Sasuke would discard her opinion just as he would any other fangirl or weak person, but either that girl had caught up to him, or Sasuke was drastically falling behind, because he could... relate to her feelings. 

There was a need to shake Naruto's shoulders and ask him to... be like that overly enthusiastic, naïve-but-not, smiling goon. It didn't feel right. 

Sasuke could figure out why: Naruto seemed enlightened, somehow- like he knew more about the world, perhaps about himself, and was not lost like Sasuke still was.

Naruto was no longer alone, or excluded, or lacking in a place to call 'home'. 

It had always been a thing of Sasuke's to be able to glance at Naruto when he felt distant from the world, and instantly know and relate and calm down because there was someone with him. (Sentiment is weak.)

Like this string that always connected the two of them.

He blinked and the line was now severed. 

In a world where society and people were painted in greys and blacks, Naruto was the sun. Had been his sun.

The yellow of sunflowers, the blue of the sky, even that orange that made Sasuke squint when it reflected blaringly in the summer sunlight.

But now, Naruto was just another shade of grey, blue eyes not filled with such light when he looked at Sasuke anymore.

Cold, cold walls.

Just like when Itachi started staring at him like they weren't brothers anymore.

He... felt angry, almost. There was a sense of relief and good for him buried under layers of other thoughts, but he could only focus on this overwhelming sense of panic. Jealousy. Confusion. Unfairness. Anger. 

But it...

It... scared him more than that.

The one lifeline of his. The one constant that Sasuke could rely on to remain the same no matter how much he would or could change...

Gone.

Sasuke stared into Naruto's eyes, and Naruto stared right back.

Those eyes were grey.

He broke the contact first, and his nails scraped against his palms.

(Sasuke was falling behind, and once again, he felt himself slowly start to fall into the pit of bleak loneliness.)

-Naruto-

An accurate word to describe his current predicament would be: fuck. 

Sasuke might overtake Haruno's status as 'first place on the list of people he does not want to see'.

When he'd arrived at the training field, late with Kakashi, Sasuke had stared at him for a full five seconds before he pressed his face into his clasped hands. Haruno had studiously avoided his gaze before staring at him in this sort of astonished confusion every time she thought he wasn't looking. She was surprisingly quiet, contemplative, and shy... Though his- now favourite- trio had warned him.

Sasuke was similarly quiet, gentle- almost, and compliant. Meek. A meek Sasuke. 

A meek Sasuke. 

A Sasuke that didn't snap at Naruto, didn't insult or quip, or do anything. 

He simply stared, as if looking for something, and Naruto had instinctively clamped down every single thought process and emotion from his face. Naruto would never think to do such a thing in front of Sasuke of all people because Sasuke was never the kind to think other people out. 

They always looked when the other wasn't, always glanced before looking away. They would just silently and mutually ignore their private connection and butt heads when they... butted heads.

They never... Not this.

He felt an instinctive urge to step back, literally and metaphorically, when Sasuke stared- glared?- at him, eyes as piercing as his Sharingan. Naruto couldn't even sense his presence because of how well it was controlled, hidden and tucked away from his prying chakra.

"Well fine." Naruto shifted his gaze to Haruno's when Sasuke broke the eye contact. "I believe that Haruno's not a close range fighter- better for support, right?"

"Genjutsu and evasion." She told him, voice strictly professional. 

"Thought so. Could you solo a Genin team?" Naruto asked, not letting the doubt slip into his voice.

"Oh." Kakashi let out something like a snort. "Definitely."

Well. What. Okay then.

Naruto mentally filed that away, "Uchiha's most likely Raiton-specialised considering those chakra reserves. I theorise close combat. Most likely assassination-type techniques."

"Hn." Sasuke confirmed. He then gave an exhale that was heavier than usual. "I trained as per ANBU standards and fighting style."

"ANBU?!" Haruno startled, an accusing look shifting towards her Jonin Sensei. "Sasuke is a Genin, Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto could feel a fight brewing... "Well," He said over Kakashi's mumble reply. "I'm all ranges, so you don't need to worry about my fighting style. I can just slot in wherever. My main go-to's are punching and Kage Bunshin. My Iryo Ninjutsu is reliable, and not as catastrophic as you probably expect. That's all I'm saying."

Haruno paused before she pursed her lips. "Fine then. Be that way."

"We're also all about Chuunin level, so this should be a breeze." Naruto continued with a shrug. "I don't think we need to say much else."

-Chuunin exams-

Naruto made a surveying gesture once they reached the second floor. "Not you guys bullying my friends!"

"Your friends? " A disguised Kotetsu, starting to nervously sweat at the sight of Naruto, taunted. "Friends won't help you in the Chuunin exams, s-stupid rookie."

"Come on," Naruto walked right through the crowd and pulled up the girl with two buns. "Let's go to the bathroom to fix you up. Oi Bushy Brows, and erm, Hyuuga dude, come accompany us."

Sakura traded a 'what the heck' look with Tenten as they were all shuffled towards the next staircase.

Sasuke side-eyed the two 'Genin', noticing how this was also another test. He bit down his old urge to expose them- the stupidity of those other Genin were really grating on his nerves, but at least they were eliminated early on.

"Thanks for the help, guys." Tenten rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as sharp brown eyes observed the hallway. 

"It's all good." Sakura smiled amiably. "Konoha ladies stick together, yeah?."

"Oh-" A Genin clad in a green jumpsuit approached her, "Hi. My name is Rock Lee."

"Okay... Mine is Haruno Sakura." She gave a smile that looked like a grimace. "Nice to meet you-"

"The pleasure is all mine!" He gave a thumbs up and his teeth gleamed. "Let's go out together! I'll protect you until you die!"

"...How about frien- No, how about acquaintances?" Sakura suggested with a sweatdrop. She'd rather date Naruto.

"I want to test my skill against the offspring of a genius ninja Clan."

Sakura glanced at the clock, "Don't be ridiculous, Lee-san. There's less than half an hour before the meeting starts."

""This will be over in five minutes."" They both replied.

"Ramen Gods." Naruto rubbed at his head. "Howsabout we do that in the tournament phase?"

They both paused mid-start. "Tournament phase?"

"Yeah. In the tournament phase. Now's not the good time to flash off our tricks."

"The boy is right, Lee!"

"A tortoise spoke?" Sakura raised her brows.

"Geez, you guys are the epitome of adolescence!" An adult version Rock Lee appeared in a... pose. Butt pushed out, arm outstretched, an ok hand sign held in front of an eye.

"I am... lost for words." Sakura whispered. "Th-Thick brows... Thicker brows..."

"Gasp! You must be Hatake Kakashi's rival, Konoha's Blue Beast of Prey, Maito Gai!" Naruto bowed solemnly. "It is my greatest pleasure to meet you, sir!"

"Immune." Tenten whispered, peeking over the balcony railing. 

"Not another one." Neji sighed.

"Gasp back with a Springtime full of blazing Youth! " Gai replied in a flicker of movement that Naruto and Sasuke could barely catch. "You must be the Youthful Uzumaki Naruto! The greatest pleasure is mine! How's Kakashi doing?"

"You know Kakashi?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. His speed was on par with Kakashi's- or perhaps even faster. Naruto called him Kakashi's rival, but Kakashi had never mentioned a 'Gai' before...

"Hehe... As Naruto-kun said, people refer to us as 'Eternal Rivals'. Fifty wins, forty-nine losses..." He smiled and it sparkled even more than Lee's. "I'm stronger than Kakashi."

"Tch, you were hasty, Lee." Neji glanced at him coolly as they entered the exam room. "All about this testing hard work against natural geniuses..."

Lee frowned. "What do you mean?"

"His hands, Lee." Tenten gave a small, nervous smirk. "You two morons have been at it for more than a year, but have you ever thought of a natural genius that works just as hard as 'geniuses of hard work'?"

"Sasuke-kun's hands were as battered as yours." Gai narrowed his eyes even as his smile widened. "Truly a Youthful student."

"Yah~" Ino slid a hand over Naruto's shoulder. "Hello there Sasuke-kyun, Sakura-chan. Naruto-baka's here as well."

Sasuke rolled his eyes exasperatedly while Naruto promptly threw her over his shoulder. Ino landed with a dainty tap, not the slightest bit ruffled. 

"Ino," Sakura grinned. "I'm totally gonna smash you out of the water."

"Could say the same, girlie." 

"Ah. You guys are taking this stupid test as well?" Shikamaru sighed lazily. "Don't die, I guess..."

"Mm." Chouji half-heartedly agreed.

"Yoo-hoo!" Kiba stalked over, Akamaru perched on his head. "Found you."

"H-Hello, Ino-chan, Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san, Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun." Hinata mumbled out in one go.

"Well well, so everyone's assembled. Seems like all nine of us rookies are taking the test." Kiba turned to Naruto, baring his teeth. "Let's see how far we all get."

"Go eat some dog food." Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Too soon, Kiba."

"Hey, you guys should be more quiet." A grey-haired young man walked over to them, hand on hip. "You're fresh out of the Academy, right? Screaming like school girls... Jeez, this isn't a picnic."

Ino arched a brow, "Damn. Kiba, did you shit in his breakfast?" "-Don't be a bitch, Ino-" He howled back. "-Well yeah? Who do you think you are?"

"Kabuto." He promptly replied. "Instead of that, why don't you look behind you?" No one did. "...Those guys glaring at you are from Ame. They have short tempers, so I recommend you be more-"

"Wow, I'm wheezing." Naruto slapped Ino's shoulder with a cackle. "Can you imagine a ninja with a short temper?"

"They'll tots die early." Ino chuckled maliciously.

"Oh no, don't be mean, Ino." Naruto continued his high-pitched laughter. "They might throw a little fit, and then no one would be happy."

"Of course- we wouldn't like it if they soiled their nappies."

Shikamaru groaned as the two blondes continued to 'oh-hoh-hoh' their way through it. He turned to Sasuke, "First time?"

The Uchiha nodded his head and after some hesitation, he offered a hand on his shoulder as support. 

"Kabuto-san, right?" Sakura asked. "Is this your second time?"

"Nope... My seventh." Kabuto explained. "The exam's held twice a year so this is my fourth year."

"You know a lot about the exams then."

"Seventh..." Naruto pretended to muse. "Wow. Impressive-"

Ino's careful expression didn't crack. "-How pathetic someone could be."

"Yeah, man, that's sorta humiliating." Kiba clapped Kabuto on the arm. "I... admire how you can tough through it."

"It's not like you to be sympathetic." Shino deadpanned. "But I understand why you said that. Why? Because you must be relating to his pitiful mockeries of an achievement."

Then he pulled out those cards and Kabuto became less of a joke and more- the nine rookies glanced at each other- a suspicious threat.

"A paper test." Naruto cleared his throat. "Well... I'm screwed."

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata gave a small smile. "Let's do our best."

"Yeah!" He smiled. Even if the questions were too hard for him, he could always cheat.

Yep, Naruto definitely could not bother working these questions out. With a careful sideways glance, he realised that Hinata was meticulously working out every individual question. She must have realised that it was a test to see how people could gather information...

Then on her paper wrote- 'homework practice'- and Naruto had to try and not laugh. Then Hinata- with them balls- switched their papers in the blink of an eye and copied down the answers on his sheet before Naruto took the opportunity to write his name in the empty box that Hinata hadn't filled in. He erased the 'homework practice' part and drew a thumbs up next to it.

That would be two points deducted for her, but that wasn't much. The thing about competing was really just a bluff in the first place: the true deal would lie in the final, hidden question.

''So?'' Ino sat cross-legged in their mindscape. 

''Troublesome.'' Shikamaru sighed. ''The last question will mostly likely be a do or die question. I guess just stay seated and let them do their thing.''

''Argh, I should've expected it from Ibiki-san.'' Ino groaned. ''Who do you think I should warn?''

''None of them.'' Chouji cracked open a yawn. ''They'll all be fine.''

"To the sixty who remain, I congratulate you on passing the first test!"